by J.D. Davidson
One of Ohio’s largest cities had one of the country’s largest homicide rate increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report.
WalletHub, a personal finance website, released a report that showed only New Orleans had its homicide rate grow more than Cincinnati as the country worked its way through the pandemic.
“Cincinnati has the second-highest homicide rate increase during COVID. The number of homicide cases per capita in the second quarter of 2021 is just over 16 – the third-highest nationwide, and the absolute difference in the homicide rate per capita versus the second quarter of 2019 is the second-largest in the country,” said Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst. “Compared to the beginning of the pandemic, in the second quarter of 2020, Cincinnati’s homicide rate registered as the fifth-highest increase in the U.S.”
Homicide rates rose 33% in 50 of the most populated cities between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, the report said.
Cincinnati’s rate ranked ahead of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Detroit. It was the only Ohio city to make the top 50, but it trails Columbus and Cleveland in population the state.
Republican-leaning cities, based on how they voted in the 2020 presidential election, had a lower homicide rate than Democrat-leaning cities, the report said.
The top 10 cities with the highest rate increases were New Orleans; Cincinnati; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Detroit; Milwaukee; Louisville, Kentucky; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee; and Kansas City, Missouri.
The cities with the lowest rate increases were Virginia Beach, Virginia; Chandler, Arizona; Chesapeake, Virginia; Madison, Wisconsin; Arlington, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Anchorage, Alaska; Boston; El Paso, Texas; and San Diego.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. He is regional editor for The Center Square.
Photo “Cincinnati, OH” by Zach Vessels
